​A Moʻolelo for ʻUmi: A Famous Aliʻi of These Hawaiian Islands.

"Then yet another wave came in and ʻUmi said to Paiea, “Let us catch it.” Paiea agreed, responding, “Pae.” The two caught the wave together and immediately found themselves approaching a small rocky islet standing up on the reef." Illustration by Haley Kailiehu, 2016.

(Paiea was that surfing “companion” of ʻUmi that was told of in Chapter 2 of this Moʻolelo. However, because that part of the story was incompletely recorded, the one who is writing the latter half of this Moʻolelo would like to explain it furthermore clearly, so as to make known the way in which ʻUmi came into relation with his aikāne of Laupāhoehoe. That is, the aikāne of ʻUmi to whom control of the district of Puna was given.)

There was a time when ʻUmi went off walking with Kōī. Piʻimaiwaʻa and ʻŌmaʻokāmau did not go with them. It was only Kōī and ʻUmi. When they arrived at the shore in Laupāhoehoe, Paiea was surfing with some of the others of that place. The people there were praising Paiea and his ability to ride a wave with great skill. ʻUmi looked on as Paiea passed over each wave, rising up and then sitting back with each swell. He didn’t ride any of the waves in to shore, while others there did. ʻUmi then spoke in a quiet voice to one of the kamaʻāina standing there, “Is this how waves are ridden here, by rising up over the swell and sitting back? That is not how we ride waves in our place. When we ride a wave, we ride it all the way in to our shoreline of smooth alā stones.”

When that kamaʻāina heard this, he went before Paiea and told him, “That kanaka sitting over there is talking about you not riding waves.” Paiea then asked him, “What is it that he is saying?” That kanaka responded, “He said, ‘Is this how waves are ridden here, by rising up over the swell and sitting back?’ That is not how they ride waves in their ʻāina. When they ride a wave, they ride it all the way in to the shoreline of smooth alā stones. That is what he said to me.” All those gathered to watch Paiea surf heard these words, and they began to make a ruckus about ʻUmi. They then said to ʻUmi, “This is the first time that someone has challenged Paiea, as you have done, young boy. You should know that surfing is an art that Paiea is most skilled in.” Paiea called out to ʻUmi, and ʻUmi walked over to be in Paiea’s presence. Paiea then said to ʻUmi, “It is true what that person has told me?” ʻUmi responded, “I was simply making a passing remark, but it is true what he has told you.” Paiea then said to ʻUmi, “Let us have a surfing race. If I am defeated by you, I will be yours, and if you are defeated by me, you will be mine.” And ʻUmi agreed to his challenge.

Paiea then set the wager: two double-hulled canoes and one single-hulled canoe, against the palaoa (whale tooth necklace) of ʻUmi. ʻUmi agreed. Then Paiea wagered again: four double-hulled canoes against the iwi (bones) of ʻUmi. And ʻUmi agreed again to this wager. However, at that moment the young kamaʻāina of that place stepped in to help ʻUmi by offering four double-hulled canoes to match Paiea’s wager. It was clear that Paiea wanted the iwi of ʻUmi to become his, but that would not be, for the waiwai (wealth) of this young kamaʻāina was great and Paiea’s had already be exhausted. Paiea then said to that keiki kamaʻāina, “If you were to rebel against me, I would surely be killed, for you have a very large ʻohana!” Paiea was merely a resident aliʻi under Līloa. But this young kamaʻāina, however, he was a keiki papa--a Native whose ancestors for several generations back were Natives of this same place—of this side of Hāmākua and Hilo. Dear reader, allow me to add here that this “keiki papa” was not the only one who backed ʻUmi in this competition. According to one of the famous Haku Moʻolelo of Hawaiʻi, Samuel M. Kamakau, “All the people of the ʻāina from Waipunalei to Kaʻula placed their wagers on ʻUmi, and all those of Laupāhoehoe backed Paiea.”So that we all might come to understand where this place called Kaʻula is, this humble writer will describe it briefly here. Kaʻula is a long gulch at the boundary of Hāmākua and Hilo Palikū. It is located on the Hāmākua side of the place where the remains of the old sugar mill in ʻOʻokala stands today, and it is connected to the lands of ʻUmi’s mother here in Hāmākua Hikina.]

Once their wagers were set, the two of them paddled out to spot where the surf could be caught. Paiea then moved a little further out, and they waited out there floating. When a wave arrived, Paiea said to ʻUmi, “Let’s catch it.” But ʻUmi disagreed. Then another wave arrived and Paiea again said, “Let us catch it.” But again ʻUmi refused. Then yet another wave came in and ʻUmi said to Paiea, “Let’s catch it.” Paiea agreed, responding, “Pae.” The two caught the wave together and immediately found themselves approaching a small rocky islet standing up on the reef. Paiea crowded ʻUmi, pushing him towards it, and as ʻUmi turned to the inside, maneuvering carefully to avoid it, his shoulder was hit. Before reaching that rocky islet on the reef, Paiea pulled off the wave, but ʻUmi continued to ride it all the way in to the smooth alā stones on the shore. Kōī saw that ʻUmi’s shoulder and chest had been scraped and bruised, and so he went over close to ʻUmi and whispered to him, “If the ʻāina comes under your control one day, Paiea will be killed by me.” ʻUmi quietly agreed to his request. The reason why Paiea had moved himself outside was because his intention was to crowd ʻUmi and push him in to that small rocky islet, so that he would win. However, because of ʻUmi’s skill, he was able to just barely avoid that trouble.

Paiea was defeated by ʻUmi. All the waiwai that Paiea had wagered was taken by the young kamaʻāina, with the exception of what he had wagered against ʻUmi’s palaoa (whale tooth necklace). That was for ʻUmi. And so it was at that moment that this young kamaʻāina of Laupāhoehoe became a favored aikāne of ʻUmi.

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About the story...

"He Moolelo no Umi" is one of the earliest known published versions of the story of ʻUmi-a-Liloa, the great chief of Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi. The version of this story that is republished and translated here was first published by Simeon Keliikaapuni and J. H. Z. Kalunaaina in 1862, in the Hawaiian language newspaper called Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. After Keliikaapuni & Kalunaaina published "He Moolelo no Umi," similar versions of this important moʻolelo were published and republished in newspapers by a number of others throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Our kūpuna clearly valued this moʻolelo and the lessons it imbued upon each generation who learned it. We, in the same spirit that inspired our kūpuna to retell this moʻolelo, represent it here, in both its original language and in english, so that our generation and the many generations to come may derive knowledge from the important lessons held within this moʻolelo. And so that we, kamaʻāina of Hāmākua, may find pride in the deep cultural heritage and history of our beloved homelands, the birthplace of this great chief, ʻUmi-a-Līloa.

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